What is Catechesis?
Son of God, who is taught-everything else is taught with reference to Him-and it
"Catechesis is nothing other than the process of transmitting the Gospel, as
the Christian community has received it, understands it, celebrates it, lives it
and communicates it in many ways." (General Directory for Catechesis #105)
Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when He said,
Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore
and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have
commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time. (Mt.
28:18-20)
This great commission has been handed to women and men, whom God has
called, to proclaim the Good News. This ministry of teaching and forming has
traditionally been referred to as catechesis.
The name of catechesis was given to the whole of the efforts within the Church
to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God...and
to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ.
(Catechesi Tradendae #1)
The word catechesis comes from the Greek meaning "to echo the teaching"
meaning that catechesis or the teaching of the faith is an interactive process in
which the Word of God re-sounds between and among the proclaimer, the one
receiving the message, and the Holy Spirit! Catechesis is a life-long process of
initial conversion, formation, education, and on-going conversion. Through
word, worship, service and community, it seeks to lead all God's people to an
ever deepening relationship with God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Catechesis takes many forms and
includes the initiation of adults, youth and children as well as the intentional
and systematic effort to enable all to grow in faith and discipleship.
Many people recall the term C.C.D. which stood for the "Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine" which served parishes in their efforts to provide religious
education to children who attended public schools. Today, we have retrieved
the notion of catechesis to capture the broader mission of the Church to
proclaim the Gospel to adults, youth and children in order to "put people in
communion with Jesus Christ" (Catechism of the Catholic Church #426).
Source: http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/
Pope John Paul II gave the Church an indispensable document called
Catechesi Tradendae which outlined the importance of catechesis for the
Church today. The document opens describing Christ as the one true teacher.
To catechize is to lead another person to Jesus Christ, and to all that He taught.
“Christocentricity in catechesis also means the intention to transmit not one’s
own teaching or that of some other master, but the teaching of Jesus Christ,
the Truth that He communicates or, to put it more precisely, the Truth that He
is. We must therefore say that in catechesis it is Christ, the Incarnate Word and
is Christ alone who teaches-anyone else teaches to the extent that he is
Christ’s spokesman, enabling Christ to teach with his lips. Whatever be the
level of his responsibility in the Church, every catechist must constantly
endeavor to transmit by his teaching and behavior the teaching and life of
Jesus.” – CT 6
In the wake of the responsibility given to lay catechists as the Church
continues to grow after the Second Vatican Council, the material avaliable to
catechists is not always of the most orthodox nature. We hope to equip you
with material, free for your use, to help you grow in holiness and become a
better catechist.
The aim of all catechesis is to bring your student to the “love that never ends.”
(CCC 25) What is the best way to accomplish that? What are the best methods
in the classroom to employ? What is the best material available today to
catechists? The Catechetics program at Franciscan University has helped
answer many of these questions, and has one of the best, if not the best
catechetics education in the nation for lay catechists. The still young program
founded under the beloved Barbara Morgan, continues to grow today and
attract more students than the program can handle, many of them Catholic
converts who see the strong need for a renewal in catechesis in the Church
today. The material developed on this website is brought to you by a student in
the final stages of the catechetics program, taught under professors Ronald
Bolster (director), Sr. M. Johanna Paruch, James Pauley, Scott Sollom, and
Robert Rice. The idea is to make the best of that program available in summary,
to encourage your attendance at the Bosco Conference during the summer at
Franciscan for more education, and to hope and pray that catechesis continues
to undergo reform in the United States recentered on solid method that serves
content, with Jesus Christ as its center.
You will find that every section of this website is aimed to give you easy access
to tools that will help you become a better catechist and Christian.
“Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people, and adults
which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally
speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers
into the fullness of Christian life.” – CCC 5
HTTP://CATECHETICSONLINE.COM/?P=79
Catechesis is practice of handing on the Faith.
Catechetics is the art and science of handing on the Faith. It is the theory
behind the craft of catechesis.